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Maslow looked into the concept awhile ago ---- Id put good sex and puna at the top - maslow had other ideas
"maslow's pyramid" good goole over coffee
amoeba having an easier time of it - all they seek is warmth and light.... evolution adding a few more layers on the pyramid
manana
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Ah yes, The "Puna Pyramid". It has alcohol, sex, working catchment, lack of rat-lung, and pot at the top. In the middle is space and freedom. Not sure what the base is composed off, but I'm sure some "self actualized" people will be sure to speak up here.
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The sense of happiness is largely a result of neurochemistry. If your chemical brew is "right" you tend to be happy. If it isn't you tend otherwise. For every individual the actions that can alter the brain soup recipe, for better or worse, are unique. There is no magic path for all that leads to happyland. The happiest people I have known were those who never thought about it and were simply delighted to be alive.
life is short. enjoy it
life is short. enjoy it
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Your only as happy or unhappy as you think you are.
Well that's true Jim, but this is the study of HOW and WHY people THINK or perceive they are happy.
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I do think that a lot of "happiness" has to do with two things: 1) Genetics and 2) Pharmaceuticals. My mom was a very simple person with simple needs. She was almost always very happy. Her sister, my aunt Velva, was always ridiculously happy. In fact, at the end, she had an horrific cancer and my Mom took me to go see her. The room smelled very bad -- like death, I guess. Aunt Velva was just a few days from it. But when I walked in with Mom, she lit up like a Christmas tree and though she was in great pain, mitigated by meds, she was very clearly happy. She always was. I never saw her unhappy. She and Mom got the gene. My other Aunt in the same family was always pretty cranky --not in an unpleasant way....she just kinda groused her whole life. Ironically, her name was Joy. She didn't get the gene. Aunt Velva's life was actually pretty rough -- man troubles, and every other kinda trouble, while Joy had it pretty good.
The other thing nowadays is pharmaceuticals. I've known some people where you say "I broke my finger" and they will say something like "I've heard that if you break a finger it becomes stronger!". I kinda squint at them and then put it all together -- they are clearly on drugs. I am completely alone in this view and I know it is unpopular, but I kinda think that's cheating.
These genetic influences and drugs aside, I still go back to the great wisdom of McConnaughey....and Chunkster, because vodka really does help a lot. Add diet tonic water, and you can have nirvana for awhile without having to sit on a mat with legs crossed and arms akimbo until you almost pass out.
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First of all I would like to congratulate most of you because most of the posts in here are correct.
There is not only one "correct way"
Buy there is a behavior pattern that can be learned from an early age. If you continually think positive your brains chemistry will in fact evolve into a state of "more likely than not be happy " no matter what the circumstance is.
However it works both ways that's why there are some really bitter people on this earth that are almost beyond help
'Your whole idea about yourself is borrowed-- borrowed from those who have no idea of who they are themselves.'
'Your whole idea about yourself is borrowed-- borrowed from those who have no idea of who they are themselves.'
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A way to change the way you think,without drugs and alcohol.Allan Watts "Out of your mind"lectures.Puna May well be the new Druid Heights.(works with drugs and alcohol as well)Watts found psychoactive drugs usefull but said "when you get the message hang up the phone"There are many hours of lectures they may confuse,clarify,or confound you but they will make you think.They are very positive.
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Hmmm. I've always been, or perceived myself as being, happy. Even during adversity I see it as a problem but not something that redefines me - it doesn't mean I'm not a happy person. I see my feeling of happiness as luck and genetics. But I do get a lot of flack for it (rose-colored glasses and head in the sand type accusations).
hrugs::